Body and soul, in perfect harmony

We know that “...music hath charms to soothe a savage breast,” according to English poet and playwright William Congreve.

We also know that food is balm for the body and the soul.

Put the two elements together — wonderful food, wonderful music — and you’re living large. That’s precisely what happens with the Philadelphia Orchestra’s well-named “Kitchen Compositions: A Symphony of Recipes.”

Created by the musicians and staff of the Philadelphia Orchestra, the book is organized by category.

Why a cookbook?

“As a chef, you quickly learn that cooking is so much more than food. It’s about the entire dining experience,” writes celebrity chef Jose Garces, restaurateur and the author of the book’s introduction.

Notes Garces, “...The Orchestra is expanding beyond the art of music as it takes on the art of cooking.” Garces puts it in perspective: Each meal is a unique performance ... every player contributes a visual to the show.”

Why now? The Philadelphia Orchestra already published cookbooks in 1980 and 1992. Those contained recipes from orchestra donors and volunteer committee members. It was time to do another, it was agreed, since this is a new era of the Food Network, whole TV channels devoted to cooking, and chefs as personalities. This time, it would be musicians and other orchestra staff as recipe creators, a first.

It is a source of pride to the collaborative creators of “Kitchen Composition” that every recipe has been tested, evaluated, critiqued and occasionally tweaked according to the feedback, said editor-in-chief Marilyn H. Appel.

The categories in the book range from “Breads and Breakfast,” “Appetizers,” and “Salads,” to “Soups,” “Sides,” “Pasta” “Entrees,” and, of course, “Dessert.”

There are directions on practical things including how to hard-boil an egg, which foils many cooks, and how to peel a tomato, among other tips.

For Collingswood orchestra flute player Loren Lind, cooking is serious business, as is music. It is his 40th season with the orchestra.

He said his passion for Asian cooking comes from growing up in Hawaii, where Asian influences are pervasive. Lind and his wife, Pat O’Rourke, are well-known for hosting Orchestra Thai Dinner benefits as fundraisers for the organization. Lind grows his own ginger, and has an exotic lime tree in his yard.

One of his favorite recipes, Passion Fruit Salad Dressing, is in the new cookbook, and Lind said it takes him back to his culinary roots.

Bob Cafaro discovered the cello at age 9, and has never detoured from it. A Juilliard graduate who came to the Philadelphia Orchestra in 1995 after a stint with the Metropolitan Opera and the Baltimore Symphony, this musician also is passionate about food. In some ways, he said, it has saved his life.

Diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1999, Cafaro had an epic struggle with the disease a few months later, and was determined to find ways to conquer MS, which is thought of as permanent. He began to dig into the research and find his own way to beat the disease.

“I made enormous lifestyle changes, and stuck to them — and that certainly included food,” said the musician, who was declared 99 percent cured in August by his University of Pennsylvania neurologist.

His diet is all about avoiding processed food and sticking to a vegetarian life. He believes that has been a major factor in his success in conquering MS, so much so that he has almost completed a book that tells his story.

Cafaro also was instrumental in seeing the cookbook to completion, and receives an acknowledgement in the book.

“One of my recipes, the Egg and Veggie Scramble, is not on my self-imposed food list because it has eggs in it, but I wanted to loosen up for the benefit of others,” he said.

“Food can help and heal us if we choose wisely. It certainly has for me.”

To order “Kitchen Compositions: A Symphony of Recipes,” contact the Volunteer Office of the Philadelphia Orchestra at 215-893-1956. Or visit https://www.philorch.org/sites/default/files/KitchenCompositions-OrderForm_0.pdf

The book is $35.

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